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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24182653">Ghost Hunters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlitGarden/pseuds/SunlitGarden'>SunlitGarden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Banter, Established Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Ghost Hunters, Haunted Houses, Minor Injuries, Minor Scares, Sisters of Quiet Mercy Group Home (Riverdale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:35:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24182653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlitGarden/pseuds/SunlitGarden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There are few things in life Jughead loves more than a good mystery and Betty Cooper is one of them, <em>the one</em> if anyone bothered asking him. So when they pull up to the dilapidated Sisters of Quiet Mercy and walk through the crunchy leaves and rusted gates, the glow of a lamppost hitting her face just right, his chest flutters with excitement that this will be another grand adventure for their web series and lives together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ghost Hunters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArsenicPanda/gifts">ArsenicPanda</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For arsenicpanda's request of bughead + Ghost Hunters. Minor spooks and flirting ahead! Thanks to theheavycrown for organizing the "escape from reality" event ^-^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">There are few things in life Jughead loves more than a good mystery and Betty Cooper is one of them, <em>the </em>one if anyone bothered asking him. So when they pull up to the dilapidated Sisters of Quiet Mercy and walk through the crunchy leaves and rusted gates, the glow of a lamppost hitting her face just right, his chest flutters with excitement.</p><p class="p1">Framed by his viewport, this is the perfect Saturday night–not to mention a future moneymaker for their web series.</p><p class="p1">Panning the sunken walls feels like running his fingertips along Betty’s neck, eliciting shivers that reminds him how <em>good </em>this is. The floors whisper with every step she takes, her sleek golden ponytail resplendent amidst the peeling paint. He narrates, his voice low and rumbling as he recounts the history of this former home for troubled youths, famous for making “sinners” even stranger.</p><p class="p1">Betty frowns at a deteriorating poster hung over a bed and pokes at the poorly sheared construction paper heart attached to newspaper clippings, studying them like she does murder boards and maps.</p><p class="p1">The “Gargoyle King” looks like a delusional mix of the Grim Reaper and a Water Polo Team captain, but clearly the girl who pasted her own photo next to him was into it.</p><p class="p1">“What do you think, Betts? Is he dreamy?”</p><p class="p1">She rolls her eyes. “We all have our kinks.”</p><p class="p1">“True.” He tugs on her ponytail, relishing the way her eyes flutter shut as her lips twitch into a smile. The bed groans under her knees and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Swiveling, he and Betty sweep the room for whatever energy just entered. “Looks like we have a pervert on our hands.”</p><p class="p1">“Or a territorial spirit.”</p><p class="p1">“Hey, at least we have their attention.” Betty flips on the electronic communication device and points it into the center of the room where the bulbs on the end flicker, reading a presence. “Who are you?”</p><p class="p1">If there’s a response, it’s not on a frequency they can pick up. Betty records the empty room then fiddles with the knobs to play it back. “No one,” the disembodied voice crackles, or at least that’s what he hears amidst the static.</p><p class="p1">“Ah, another Odysseus.”</p><p class="p1">Betty quirks a brow. “Don’t taunt the dead with literary references, Jug. They’re having a hard enough time as it is.”</p><p class="p1">“My apologies. We’re here to help.”</p><p class="p1">“Follow,” the voice tells them.</p><p class="p1">“Like that’s not ominous.”</p><p class="p1">“Come on, Jug.” She takes his hand and leads him out into the hall, pausing to recalibrate their direction. Beams from her EMT reader light the cobwebs and swirling dust. This shot is one of his favorites: his brave girl leading the way, their joined hands in view with the unknown ahead. They’ve become a meme, a twisted version of that couple who got Instagram famous by holding hands while traveling to exotic locations with crystal clear waters and sunny skies. Jughead and Betty tryst through haunted forests and dilapidated buildings seeking answers from beyond the grave to solve twisted mysteries.</p><p class="p1">They finally get to a pair of heavy wooden doors. Betty tugs on the iron handle. “Locked.” Without a second thought, she gets on her knees, allowing him time to set up a silhouette shot of her removing a famous bobby pin and spreading it enough to twist their way in.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll never get tired of watching you do that.”</p><p class="p1">“Let’s hope our viewers don’t, either.” She winks, getting up, then bending over to dust off her knees in a way that his him angling the camera off to the side so he can ogle her ass without everyone doing it with him. “All right, we’re in,” she announces, used to having to narrate to some extent. Jughead sets up a secondary freestanding camera while they survey the space. There’s some kind of ominous statue against the far wall.</p><p class="p1">Together, they manage to shine their flashlights enough to make out its branching horns and cloaked figure, one skeleton hand outstretched.</p><p class="p1">“Creepy,” he mutters. “Was he everyone’s boyfriend?”</p><p class="p1">“Are you asking our spirit if this was a cult-y harem?”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know. They could’ve been the Sister-Wives of Quiet Mercy.”</p><p class="p1">With a long-suffering sigh, Betty shakes her head at him and smiles. “The stories you come up with.”</p><p class="p1">“That’s kind of my thing.”</p><p class="p1">“I thought that was the sarcasm and the beanie.”</p><p class="p1">“Among other things,” he suggests, thankful that the camera won’t pick up his eyebrow waggle but there’s just enough light to catch on her teeth when she bites into her lower lip.</p><p class="p1">“Now what?”</p><p class="p1">As he inhales to answer her, she shakes her head, tapping her lips for him to be quiet.</p><p class="p1">After a moment, the electric communication emits something that sounds like slobber amidst the static. “Alone.”</p><p class="p1">Dread curls up his throat and forms a fist. “Nope. No. No, no-no. No ‘alone.’ We are a tag-team on this.”</p><p class="p1">“Jughead–”</p><p class="p1">“You are not honey trapping again.” For whatever reason, ghosts <em>loved </em>Betty, not that he could blame them. But all of their unresolved emotions tended to rub off on her and he hated when she had to shoulder that. “We agreed–partners through life <em>and</em> death.”</p><p class="p1">“We are,” she agrees, “But maybe the spirit is suggesting that <em>they </em>feel–<em>ohmygodit’stouchingme</em>!” Sucking in a deep breath, Betty jerks sideways at a harsh angle as Jughead goes on auto-pilot, darting to gather her in his arms and point the camera at the offender.</p><p class="p1">“Keep your ectoplasm to yourself! Are you okay, Betts?”</p><p class="p1">“My neck,” she grumbles, almost pouting. A fine pink scratch runs down the back of her neck.</p><p class="p1">Tsking, he documents the injury before kissing the area and rubbing her back, wishing he’d been injured, instead. “Let’s get out of here.”</p><p class="p1">“I can handle it,” she protests.</p><p class="p1">“I know you can,” he promises gently, “But I need a recovery period before I have a heart attack or try to trap it. What do you say we clean up that scratch, get some food, and come back?”</p><p class="p1">“Fine.” Shooting a dark look at the statue, she addresses the room. “It’s in your best interest to help us. There’s not much you can do for your King if you’re trapped in the afterlife and we’d rather not keep you in a box, either. We want to help you move on. You might even reconnect with an old love or find a new one, instead. Think about that for when we come back.”</p><p class="p1">Pride wells in his chest at his eloquent darling and he presses a kiss to her forehead. “Well said.” They head back to the car and pull out the first aid kit so he can clean the scratch. It’s not deep enough for a band-aid but he wishes he could do more, nonetheless.</p><p class="p1">“Jug, it’s fine. If we can sterilize your busted knuckles and wrap them in a t-shirt, I’m sure I can keep working after a scratch.”</p><p class="p1">“That was different. The Joneses’ heal at a supernatural rate.”</p><p class="p1">“Lucky them,” she teases, smiling at her lap and putting away the first aid kit.</p><p class="p1">He catches her hand, rubbing her fourth finger with his thumb. “I’m hoping it’s transferable. We’ll have to test that theory… soon?”</p><p class="p1">“Soon,” she agrees, leaning over the console to kiss him and rub his cheek, gazing at him like she’s savoring this moment as much as he is. “For now, let’s get you a Scooby snack.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>On tumblr I'm @lovedinapastlife but I always appreciate love and haunting in the form of thoughts and kudos. What kind of things do you suppose their audience loves about them? The same things we do? ;) And yes, the ghost is hinted to be Ethel, but perhaps it is a mystery~ I just loved that psycho love board. I mean, kudos to the prop team on that one. Be well!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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